Seven-Metre Shark Captured Off Sesimbra Coast

November 25, 2006

Release from: Portugal News Online

Four Sesimbra fishermen were taken by surprise during the early hours of Tuesday morning as they reeled in a seven-metre-long Basking shark, weighing over 2.5 tonnes.

According to Valdemar Piedade, captain of the vessel on which the shark was caught, the shark is a non-carnivorous specie, feeding only on plankton.

The sharks presence in Portuguese waters is reportedly not entirely unusual as they frequently navigate the Northern Ocean on search of algae and small crustaceans.

The incident occurred as the four fishermen were fishing for black swordfish, generally caught at around ten thousand metres in depth.

Basking sharks are the second largest fish in the world, surpassed only by the whale shark, and can reach up to 12 metres in length.